The single Silicon Valley voter who called for the dramatic recount in California’s 16th Congressional District insisted he’s a concerned citizen seeking an honest outcome, after backlash over his ties to one of the candidates.
San Jose resident and tech entrepreneur Jonathan Padilla called for the recount after the March primary set up an unprecedented three-way race for Rep. Anna Eshoo’s seat, with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Assemblymember Evan Low tied for second behind fellow Democrat and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
“I am concerned about the outcome of this election making sure that the votes are counted,” Padilla told POLITICO on Tuesday in his first interview about the recount. “I think this is such a historic event. This tie seems more absurd than just a very close election.”
But Padilla’s ties to Liccardo sparked a backlash: He donated to Liccardo’s current campaign in December and worked for the former San Jose mayor, both during his 2014 campaign and time in office. Padilla also claimed in the filing that he made the request on behalf of Low, which Low’s campaign disputed.
Padilla’s remarks came on the same day that one of the two counties involved, Santa Clara, announced its recount had concluded, with Low gaining 11 votes and Simitian 7, setting Simitian up to be knocked out in California’s top-two system, unless a change comes in San Mateo County’s final tally.
Low’s team accused Liccardo of coordinating the recount to remove one of his competitors, which Liccardo’s campaign denies. Low’s campaign also asked election officials if there was any way to stop the recount.
Padilla said it was solely his idea, though the hundreds of thousands of dollars required for the more than two-week manual recount in two counties has come from a newly-formed political action committee: Count the Vote.
“I'm not as close to Sam as people probably think. I’m not one of Sam’s best friends,” Padilla said, claiming their last “meaningful conversation” was Liccardo asking for a donation late last year.
Eshoo — whose seat is at the center of this race — and others have publicly called for more transparency from Padilla about who is funding the PAC, which will ultimately pay around $350,000-$500,000 for the recount.
When asked who was funding the group, Padilla said it was a “regular PAC” and denied any connection with the Liccardo campaign.
When asked if the PAC was made up of Liccardo supporters, Padilla said it's funded by “people who have a history of backing candidates in this race” and that the list of names “shouldn’t be a surprise when it comes out” in the PAC’s first mandatory FEC filings in July.
Padilla said he is ultimately a dedicated Democrat who cares about the honest outcome of the election. He noted the recount has returned at least a handful of uncounted challenged ballots, making it — in his eyes — a worthy cause.
A Liccardo spokesperson declined to comment on Padilla’s remarks, pointing instead to Liccardo’s prior defense of the recount.
“We should embrace these lessons to preserve our most hallowed of democratic institutions — the free and fair election — in a moment when the electoral process has come under repeated and unjustified attack,” Liccardo wrote Monday for San Jose Inside . “We can start by ensuring that — without suspicion or political drama — we count every vote.”
Simitian’s campaign declined to comment until all results are in. A Low spokesperson said the campaign had seen the Santa Clara results and is waiting to see results from San Mateo, which is waiting on the postal service to confirm when some ballots were received.
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